Play · Learn · Analyse · Master
Play Xiangqi Online — Learn Chinese Chess & Master the Game
Play xiangqi online against real players or a strong engine. Learn the rules, openings, tactics and endgames with interactive lessons, puzzles and analysis — on boards you can actually move the pieces on.
This board is live. Red moves first — try a move.
Xiangqi position. Red: soldier a3, soldier c3, soldier e3, soldier g3, soldier i3, cannon b2, cannon h2, chariot a0, horse b0, elephant c0, advisor d0, general e0, advisor f0, elephant g0, horse h0, chariot i0. Black: chariot a9, horse b9, elephant c9, advisor d9, general e9, advisor f9, elephant g9, horse h9, chariot i9, cannon b7, cannon h7, soldier a6, soldier c6, soldier e6, soldier g6, soldier i6. Red to move.
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Play
Play Chinese chess online
Four ways to get a game, all of them free and none of them requiring a download.
Play Online
Matched with a real opponent in seconds, with clocks, ratings and reconnection if your train goes into a tunnel.
Play the Computer
Four difficulty levels backed by a genuine search engine — not a random-move bot pretending to be one.
Play a Friend
Open a private room, send the link, and they are on the board the moment they click it. No account needed for them.
Train on Puzzles
Tactical positions with one right idea. Get it wrong and the board explains the pattern rather than buzzing at you.
Learn
Learn xiangqi properly, from zero
Every rule explained on a board you can move — not a wall of text with a diagram photograph next to it.
Why this platform
We got the hard rules right
Most xiangqi software implements the easy rules correctly and the hard ones not at all. The hard ones are the repetition laws — perpetual check (长将) and perpetual chase (长捉) — and they decide real games.
As far as we can establish, no library in the JavaScript, TypeScript, Rust or Python ecosystems adjudicates perpetual chase correctly. We built ours to the World Xiangqi Federation standard and verify it against the official 110-diagram casebook on every single build.
- Stalemate is a loss, not a draw — the opposite of western chess.
- The flying general — generals may never face down an open file.
- Horses and elephants can be blocked; neither ever jumps.
- Perpetual check and chase adjudicated to the WXF standard.
What is xiangqi?
Xiangqi (象棋), known in English as Chinese chess, is a two-player strategy game with a documented history going back to the Song dynasty and an estimated several hundred million players. It shares an ancestor with western chess, and the family resemblance is real, but the differences run deeper than the pieces.
The board is nine files by ten ranks, and pieces sit on the intersections rather than inside squares. A river divides the two halves; elephants may never cross it, and soldiers gain sideways movement once they do. At each end sits a three-by-three palace that the general and its two advisors can never leave. Red moves first, and the game is won by checkmating the enemy general.
How to play xiangqi
The seven piece types take about ten minutes to learn, and two of them behave unlike anything in western chess. The cannon moves like a chariot but can only capture by jumping exactly one intervening piece. The horse moves in an L like a knight but cannot jump, and is blocked by a single piece beside it.
Start with the board setup, then work through the pieces one at a time. Our complete beginner's guide takes you from an empty board to your first full game.
Xiangqi openings
Xiangqi opening theory is deep and unusually forcing. The most common first move by a wide margin is the Central Cannon, swinging a cannon to the middle file and aiming it at the enemy general on move one. The main reply is Screen Horses, developing both horses to defend the centre. Browse the opening reference for the main systems and the ideas behind them.
Tactics, endgames and analysis
Tactically, xiangqi rewards forcing play: forks, pins, discovered attacks and sacrifices against the palace decide most games. Because the general is confined, mating patterns are more concrete than in chess and more of them are worth memorising. Work through the tactical patterns and the endgame reference, then analyse your own games to find which of them you are missing.
Frequently asked questions
What is xiangqi?
Xiangqi (象棋), or Chinese chess, is a two-player strategy game played on a nine-by-ten grid of intersections divided by a river, with a nine-point palace at each end. Each side has 16 pieces and wins by checkmating the opposing general. It is one of the most played board games in the world.
Is xiangqi the same as Chinese chess?
Yes — they are two names for the same game. “Xiangqi” is the Mandarin name (象棋); “Chinese chess” is the common English description. Both refer to the game described throughout this site.
Is Xiangqi Master free?
Yes. Playing, the lessons, the puzzles and every reference page here are free. Creating an account adds a rating, saved games and progress tracking.
How is xiangqi different from western chess?
The pieces sit on intersections rather than in squares; the general and advisors never leave the palace and elephants never cross the river; the cannon captures by jumping a screen; there is no promotion and no castling; stalemate is a loss; and repetition is adjudicated rather than automatically drawn. See the full rules reference.
How long does a game take?
An online blitz game takes five to ten minutes. Longer time controls run 20–40 minutes. Xiangqi is generally sharper and more forcing than western chess, and games are often decided by a direct attack on the palace.
Can I play xiangqi against the computer?
Yes, at four difficulty levels, free and without an account. The engine searches properly rather than picking plausible-looking moves, so the higher levels are a genuine test.
The board is set
Play your first game right now — free, instant, and nothing to install.